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Potentially empty stadiums won't faze Cardinals CB Robert Alford

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If the NFL season begins this season, it is possible games will have to be played in empty stadiums because of the coronavirus pandemic. It would create an interesting situation for the players, who are used to crowd noise and fans cheering.

It might rattle some players, but not Arizona Cardinals cornerback Robert Alford.

“I’m self-motivated. You have to be self-motivated. Wher I come from, I come from a small school, so there weren’t hardly any fans in the stands anyway,” he said in a video conference with reporters.

Alford played collegiately at Southeastern Louisiana. Attendance at their games was under 10,000 regularly.

Alford said he has always played “with a chip on (his) shoulders.”

While some might believe that the play on the field might change because of the lack of fan energy in the stadium, Alford says it is about motivation.

“Once you have a dream or you have a goal that you have set for a team, I don’t think that it really matters as far as playing with fans,” he said. “I think you just have to be self-motvated and you have to motivate each other each and every day that you step on the grass. For game purposes, if there’s not fans, you have to be self-motivated.”

Ideally, when the Cardinals take the field this season, there will be fan. But if not, Alford will help lead the Cardinals to playing at a high level for each other.

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The Arizona Cardinals re-signed running back Kenyan Drake this offseason on a one-year transition tag deal, which will pay him almost $8.5 million in 2020. He rushed for 643 yards and eight touchdowns in eight games after being acquired via trade.

Over a 16-game season, that projects to 16 rushing touchdowns, which is the franchise record in a season.

Can he set a franchise record in 2020? Where can he finish season?

Seven players have finished with at least 10 rushing touchdowns. Check them out below.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire's Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red.

The 2020 NFL season could be impacted significantly financially with the possibility of less or no fans in stadiums for at least part of the season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That could significantly impact the salary cap in 2021, according to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport.

Rapoport reports the league is potentially looking at a drop of at least $40 million in the salary cap in 2021, depending on the revenue that comes in this season.

According to Rapoport, the league wants to avoid this and keep the salary cap flat, at worst. He suggests the league is thinking of potentially...